On November 19: The Chicago Mercantile Exchange reported 40-pound blocks down 4-1/4 to $1.41. 500-pound barrels down 6-1/4 to $1.2975.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange cash cheese trading takes place daily from 10:45 to 10:55 a.m. with a closing call that can go a maximum of another 10 minutes. Our chart reports the last five trading days. Yearly activity can be found at Chicago Mercantile Exchange Cheese

These prices are from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a daily spot-market for cheese. Until September 1, 1998, cheese trading took place once a week on Thursdays. The Chicago Merc replaced the National Cheese Exchange on May 1, 1997. Historically, the National Cheese Exchange was an important market for pricing 80 to 90 percent of the wholesale cheese in the U.S. Also, the NCE had a tremendous influence on farm milk prices because of the great effect it has on the Basic Formula Price (BFP); the BFP is the foundation price for all prices under federal milk marketing orders.